In Japan, Kobo E-Reader Takes On Paper Books — And Amazon
- July 22nd, 2012
The standard gripe among old-media romantics these days is that nobody reads real books anymore, but perhaps those folks just haven't been to Japan.
Despite the Land of the Rising Sun's avowed tech-loving ethos, Japanese consumers have been slow to jump on the e-book bandwagon embraced by Europe and the United States, where Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle has permeated every bus, train and subway on both continents. Japan, conversely, stands as an oasis of ink and paper -- a place where, against all odds, people still overwhelmingly prefer traditional books.
But they may not prefer them for long.
The Tokyo-based e-commerce giant Rakuten (4755: JASDAQ) introduced its Kobo Touch e-reader on Thursday, and early reports suggest that the device is already a hit. The Kobo jumped almost instantly to the top spot on Rakuten's website of more than 100,000,000 products since it became available for pre-order on July 2. Kobo CEO Mike Serbinis said in a statement that the company was "thrilled to see this response from the Japanese people."
Other electronics companies have tried amid little fanfare to ignite an e-book boom in the world's second-largest publishing market. Sony (NYSE: ADR), whose LIBRIe electronic reading device practically kicked off the e-book industry in 2004, has been unable to create much interest, even on its home turf.
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